"Law is Justice"
Bastiat's most famous work, "The Law," was originally published as a pamphlet in 1850 and remains a seminal text in the study of political economy and legal philosophy. In this influential piece, Bastiat articulates a vision of a just legal system that upholds the principles of individual liberty and property rights.
Bastiat argues that the primary role of law is to protect "his person, his liberty, and his property," which he views as fundamental rights inherent to every individual. Through this framework, he demonstrates how a well-constructed legal system can support and sustain a free society, emphasizing the importance of laws that are designed to prevent injustice rather than to impose it.
In "The Law," Bastiat critiques various forms of legal and governmental overreach, advocating instead for a minimalist approach where laws are confined to protecting individuals from force and fraud. His arguments challenge readers to reconsider the role of government and the nature of justice, making this work a cornerstone for understanding classical liberal thought and the principles of a free-market society.
Extract: "And, in all sincerity, can anything more be required at the hands of the law? Can the law, whose necessary sanction is force, be reasonably employed upon anything beyond securing to every one his right? I defy any one to remove it from this circle without perverting it, and consequently turning force against right. And as this is the most fatal, the most illogical social perversion which can possibly be imagined, it must be admitted that the true solution, so much sought after, of the social problem, is contained in these simple words—Law is organised Justice."
